"Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920, is a multimedia
collection that documents the movement to conserve and protect America's
natural heritage. It includes complete works of authors such as John
Burroughs, George Perkins Marsh, John Muir, and Henry David Thoreau; prints
lithographs, and engravings of American scenery; an Alaska Expedition
album; and records of legislation establishing national forests and parks."
Check it out at: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amrvhtml/conshome.html
Right now I'm reading the writings of George Perkins Marsh, which are
summarized there thusly: "By the mid-nineteenth century, a few Americans
were beginning to draw attention to the nation's destruction of its natural
resources, especially its forests. None had a more powerful impact on the
subsequent history of the conservation movement than George Perkins Marsh.
In this speech on agricultural conditions, made while he was a Congressman
from Vermont, Marsh draws attention to the human impact on climate, the
problems caused by 'the injudicious destruction of the woods'... especially
the effect on water and soil, and calls for replacing 'improvident
waste'...with 'a better economy in the management of our forest lands'...
At the time, these were radical notions, foreshadowing the pioneering
synthesis of Marsh's magnum opus, Man and Nature (1864)."
Although some of you won't like the content, Man and Nature (also called
Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action) is also offered (in its
500+ page entirety) on that website. I think some or most of us would be
surprised by the thoughts of a person 150 years ago while western expansion
was going on and land and other resources were seemingly
unlimited. Anyway, I just want to share this site with those of you
interested in such things.
--Jay DeLong Olympia, WA Love that WWW
/----------------------------------------------------------------------------- /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes / Association" / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead. / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org </x-flowed>